Machine for making and driving staples



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. K. KEITH.

MACHINE FOR MAKING AND DRIVING STAPLES. No. 579,927. Patented Mar. 30, 1897,

(No mode 2 Sheets-Shet 2'. T. K. KEITH.

MACHINE FOR MAKING AND DRIVING STAPLES.

No. 579,927. Patented Mar. 30, 1897.

NTTED STATES PATENT O FFICE.

THOMAS K. KEITH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE KEITH LASTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF KITTERY, MAINE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING AND DRIVING STAPLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 579,927, dated March 30, 1897.

Application filed March 2 1 139 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS K. KEITH, of Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Hand-Operated Machines for Making and Driving Staples, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to staple-driving machines, the purpose thereof being to provide a convenient hand-tool which both forms and drives its own staples as they are required.

Accordingly my invention comprehends an automatic wire -feeding mechanism, which feeds in the wire as. required for each staple, a former which cuts off and manipulates a suitable piece of the fed-in wire to form the staple, and a driver to force the staple thus formed into the leather, board, fabric, or other material, as desired.

My invention will prove particularly serviceable in finishing corners orother places where a power-machine cannot conveniently operate or where sucha machine has skipped, and it will be found convenient for many purposes for which slower or less desirable means, such as hand tackers and nailers, are now used.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view, the face-plate and wire-feeding lever being omitted. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is arear elevation thereof. Fig. 5 shows in detail the staple-forming tongue and its operating mechanism in side elevation. Fig. 6 is atransverse section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 2.

In'the present embodiment of my invention A designates the frame or body portion, which may be of any convenient size and shape, being herein shown as comparatively slender and somewhat rounded, so as to be readily grasped and held by the hand.

The frame A is suitably recessed at its upper end to receive the operating spindle or plunger B, which is retained in place by the plate A, removably secured to frame A and backed by a piece of wood or leather A for convenience in handling. At its outer end Serial No. 584,100. (No model.)

the plungerB is provided with a driving-head B, preferably of leather, rubber, or othersubstance which will not batter down under the driving blows, and has at its inner end aspring-retractor tending to hold the plunger in normal raised position, this retractor being shown in the present instance as a spiral spring S, surrounding a rod B projecting from the plunger, a-pocket A being formed in the frame or body A to receive said rod as the plunger is depressed, the spring S being then compressed between the plunger and a shoulder a, which respectively serve to re tain the same.

0 designates the former, shown herein as U-shaped, the two' arms a 0' of which press the wire down over the tongue D to form the staple, after which the tongue is retracted and the driver E descends to drive the staple thus formed, all as will now be described.

Pivoted at f in the upper end of frame A is a cam-plate F, having in its upper portion a suitable slot f (see Fig. 2) to receive the screw-stud c projecting thereinto from the former O, the cam-plate F having in its lower portion an open-ended slot f within which works the operating-pin b, projecting from the plunger 13.

The driver E extends upwardly between the arms of the former O and is perforated at e to receive the outturned lower end B of the plunger, by means of which the driver is directly reciprocated. Thus when the plunger B is depressed both the former O and the driver E are moved together for a short distance by means of the pin b and end B respectively, the wire for the staple being caught by the arms 0 c on either side of the tongue D (see Figs. 2 and 3) and cut off by suitable means. I have herein shown the outer edge of the arm 0 as beveled and sharpened at 0 (see Fig. 6) to cooperate with the correspondingly-beveled block G (see Fig. 6) for the purpose of cutting the wire by and at the same time as the descent of the former O. The latter continues its descent until the wire is properly bent around tongue D to form the staple, at which moment the pin I) will have reached the open end of the cam-slot f and will therefore cease to swing the plate F any further in its movement, and the former O will accordingly stop and remain stationary while the plunger 13 completes its downward movement, carrying with it the driver E, mounted thereon at B to drive the staple just formed. I11 order, however, that the staple may be driven, the tongue D must first be moved out of its path. This is accomplished, preferably, by means of the m echanism shown in detail in Fig. 5, wherein II is a lever intermediately mounted on a fixed pivot h and carrying at its lower end the tongue D, pivotally engaged therewith. At its opposite end the lever II has a cam-slot 7L2, within which reeiprocates a stud b from the side of the plunger 13, saidslot being offset at such a point that the plunger moves the distance required to operate the former without moving the lever H, but the moment the staple is formed the stud 1) reaches the offset in slot 7L2, and thereby instantly withdraws the tongue D from the path of the driver E, and so retains it by reason of the straight lower portion of cam-slot 7L3 until the staple is driven.

The wire is automatically fed to the former by suitable feeding mechanism, that shown in the present embodiment of my invention comprising a lever L, fixedly pivoted at its upper end and having a cam-surface Z for engagement with the stud Z) of the driver, being held in constant engagement therewith preferably by a spring 3 at its lower end, Fig. 1. The lever L carries at its free end two nippers Z P, the latter being shown as stationary and the former as mounted on the pivot Z and yieldingly held against a step (see Fig. at) by means of'a spring Z. Corresponding nippers g are mounted on block G, the latter being shown as a portion of the block itself and the former being pivoted at g and normally held in biting engagement with the wire, to resist its removal, by the spring The wire is carried between these two pairs of nippers and enters the staple-chamber lll through the hole 9 in the block G, being limited in its forward movement by the ad j ustable stop N. The block G is also adjustable laterally on its set-screw to enable staples to be formed of different lengths, and I have also shown the arms 0 o as laterally adjustable in order to form staples of different widths, according to the width of tongue D employed.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The stop N and block G having been adjusted for the length of staple desired, and the various parts being in position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the machine is grasped in the left hand for movement as desired, the right hand being used to deliver the driving blows. A blow is accordingly delivered on the head 13, which instantly forces the formerarms 0 0, through the connection of stud c eamplate F, and pin 1) with plunger 13, down over the tongue D, cutting off and carrying forward the wire at the same time and bending it around, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, to form the staple. The instant the staple is formed the connection of former C with the plunger 13 is broken by the escape of pin h from the slot 1" of ean'rplate F, and the tongue D drops back from under the staple through the operation of stud L and lover II thereon, the staple being firmly held between the now stationary arms 0 e. The further and final movement of plunger 13 in its descent causes the driver E, slidingbetwcen the arms a c, to strike the staple and drive the same down the guide m and into thematerial, the guide at being preferably slightly tapering, with a flaring throat, to aid in easy driving of the' staples. At the same time that the plunger was descending, as above described, the lever L was being swung outwardly by the contact therewith of the stud b the nipper Zyielding to permit the wire to slip therethrough, the wire being held in the grip of nippers g 9. As soon, therefore, as the force of the driving blow has spentitself, the staple having been driven thereby, and the plunger is being returned by spring S to its normal raised position, the lever L will be permitted to return under the influence of its spring .9, the nippers Z biting into and thereby feeding the wire through nippers y g, which freely yield for feeding movement of the wire against stop N.

The details of construction herein set forth may be considerably varied without departing from the spirit and scope of my i new tion.

lVhat I claim is- 1. The combination, with the body, of a plunger reciprocable therein, a staple-form er, a canrplate pivoted to said body and having two eamways, a pin projecting from the plun ger and a stud from the former, and occupying respectively the said eamways, whereby the former is directly actuated by the plunger, and a staple-driver, also directlyoperated by the plunger to drive the staple, substantially as described.

2. A body, having a plunger reciproeable therein, said plunger having an outturned portiomeombined with a staple-former, means for intermittingly engaging said former by said plunger for moving the same through a part of the stroke of the latter, and a driver mounted on said outturned portion and to move with said plunger for driving the sta ples, substantially as described.

A body, having a plunger reeiprocable therein, said plunger having an outturned portion,combined with. a staple-former, means for intermittingly engaging said former by said plunger for moving the same through a part of the stroke of the latter, and a driver mounted on said outturned portion and to move with said plunger for driving the staples, feeding mechanism, and a cam-lever pivoted to said body and engaged by said outturned portion for operating the feeding mechanism, substantially as described.

4:. In a machine of the class described, a body, a tongue, a staple-former having two staple-former being arranged to coact with the adjustable block, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 15 name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

THOMAS K. KEITH.

Vitnesses GEO. W. GREGORY, ADDIE F. DANIELS. 

